All Things Considered

Commonly referred to as "ATC" and a staple for afternoon commutes, NPR's nationally syndicated afternoon news magazine brings you closer to home with the presence of WAMU's local host.

Since May 3, 1971 All Things Considered has been produced every day from NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Featuring a mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features, "ATC" produces 2 hours of fresh content every day for hundreds of public radio stations around the United States.

Elliott Francis

Local Host, All Things Considered

Francis has worked alongside some of the most influential media executives in the U.S. during his 25 years as a news anchor, including FOX News President and Chairman Roger Ailes, former CNN Executive Vice President Ed Turner, and the founder and former CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, John H. Johnson. In 2002, shortly after joining the ABC news affiliate in Washington DC (WJLA-TV) as the morning co-anchor, Francis was thrust into the rigors of live, non-stop coverage of the DC sniper shootings and investigation, sometimes speaking 8-9 hours unscripted. A skilled interviewer, Francis once convinced singer John Denver to go "on-camera" with details of his upcoming DUI trial.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Once all the votes are counted, President Obama is expected to eke out a narrow victory in the battleground state of Florida. But many are asking why voters had to stand in long lines for hours — on Election Day and in early voting — and also why the vote counting is taking so long.

FEMA has put more than 30,000 New York and New Jersey residents in hotels and motels and given out roughly $300 million in rental assistance. Mobile homes are on their way to hard-hit areas, and some with housing are opening their doors.

The Bishop of Durham, Justin Welby, has been appointed as the next archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England. The former oil executive has only a year's experience as a bishop. Philip Reeves has the story.

Robert Siegel talks to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Clancy, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and George Kern, Director of Bridge and Tunnel Operations for the New York City Department of Transportation, about the millions of gallons of water that has been pumped out from the tunnels after super storm Sandy and the challenges of dealing with a natural disaster of that magnitude.

A lively post-election debate has sprung up in conservative circles — about the conservative media. It's asking if Republicans were well-served by their favorite pundits and bloggers who were insisting that they would win on Election Day. Former Governor Mitt Romney was reported to have been so certain of a victory on Tuesday night, that he didn't even draft a concession speech.

In New York City, medical personnel are fanning out to provide care to residents in apartment buildings left cold and powerless by superstorm Sandy. Many people have been living without basic necessities since the storm hit 11 days ago and the teams are going door-to-door to find and treat those with medical needs.

It's been an eventful week in politics, but now what? The fiscal cliff looms, the Republican Party does some soul searching, and some are asking, did the elections change anything? Melissa Block talks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of the New York Times.

Each month, NPR's All Things Considered invites a poet into the newsroom to see how the show comes together, and to write an original poem about the news. This month, our NewsPoet is Idra Novey. Want to write your own poem about the day's news? You can put it in the comments below.

Post-election Washington is buzzing with talk of compromise and cooperation. Republicans and Democrats want to avoid a looming budget and economic disaster, and their leaders say they're ready to get to work. But some budget experts say it may be necessary to go over the fiscal cliff to reach an agreement.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The 24-year-old was spared the death penalty because of a plea deal. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' husband, the retired astronaut Mark Kelly, said that from now on, they are "done thinking about" Loughner.

China began its once-a-decade leadership transition as the 18th Communist Party Congress opened Thursday. The message focused on cleaning up government corruption, which President Hu Jintao said could be "fatal" to the party and the state.

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